Sameer was moved by Rohan's apology. Though he couldn't speak anything beyond that, nor was Sameer in a condition to hear any more... but somehow, he knew what he meant. Seated in his room, his head against the backrest, he was trying to absorb this new feeling with closed eyes.

"Sameer, tum theek ho na?" He turned at Naina's soft touch on his shoulder.

His profound smile made the moisture in his eyes shine more brightly as he turned to look at his wife standing next to the bed.

"Unhone... unhone mujhe..." His words did not have the capability to express the inordinate feelings of his heart.

"Woh tumhe poore dil se apna bhai maante hain." She held both his hands in hers.

He nodded, pursing his lips.

"Toh ab tumhe bhi bade bhai ka farz nibhana chahiye na." Her eyes held a mysterious glint.

He could not understand, "Mujhe kya karna hoga?"

"Buddhu, pehli baar aaye ho shaadi ke baad, koi tohfe nahi doge apne bhai behen ko?" She poked his forehead.

"Naina, yeh toh maine socha hi nahi... hum aise kaise khali haath aa gaye? Main kal subah hi jaake unke liye kuch... nahi, bohot kuch leke aunga." He sat up straight, tensed at this realisation.

She cupped his face, smiling, "Kahin jaane ki zaroorat nahi hai... main leke aayi hun... bas intezar kar rahi thi ki kab tumhara dil taiyar ho yeh sab unhe apne haath se dene ke liye."

His amazement was evident in his wide eyes, "Tumne kab liye?"

She pulled up her non existent collars, with a complacent smile.

He was stunned to see the things... a cardigan for Vishakha, shawl for dadi, pullover for Rohan, wallet for Vivek, and a strange cape type of garment for Deepika. Along with all this, there were two dolls, a pen set and some beautiful candles that he didn't recall choosing for anyone.

"Yeh sab tumne... kab khareeda?" His eyes wandered over the bed full of gifts.

"Jab hum apne jacket lene gaye the tab. Baaki sabka toh pata tha lekin Deepika ka size nahi malum tha, bas uski kuch photos dikhayi thi mummy ne pichli baar isliye uske liye poncho le liya... aur yeh baaki cheezen uss din candle ki dukaan se hi li thi, jab tum khoye khoye se ghoom rahe the, isliye pata nahi chala." She explained.

"Tumne Ahmedabad mein hi soch liya tha ki yahan aayenge?" His surprises didn't seem to end today.

"Haan, kyonki main sab purane nishan mita dena chahti thi." Her eyes were soft as she stared at him.

He helped her put all things back in the cupboard. Once everything was done, he walked to the door.

"Kahan jaa rahe ho, Sameer?" She asked.

He shut the door properly, securing the latch, and turned, walking back with a smirk.

"Taiyari kar raha hun, jo shaam ko batana reh gaya tha woh fir se adhura na reh jaaye." He held her hands, placing them on his stubbled cheeks.

"Bohot besharam ho tum." She rubbed her thumb on his chin.

"Aur tumhe issi beshram Sameer se pyar hai, haina?" His hands moved over her arms, finding a way to her neck, making her shiver as his fingers grazed the exposed skin in her wide neck kurta.

She raised herself, placing her lips on the jawline that never failed to made her heartbeats turn erratic. He drowned in the explosion of desire as her lips skimmed over his jaw and chin, before going down to his neck. A chuckle escaped his lips as she frowned over the round neck of his tshirt.

"Aaj tumhe button nahi todne padenge." He whispered, and pulled the tshirt over his head, pressing her to his bare chest the next instant.

The fire between them crackled as their lips met with a need that intensified more with each passing moment. The cool air of Delhi shied away as the room heated up with the fervent passion of two people madly in love with each other.

Morning was a comfortable one as dadi had gone out for inauguration of some charitable organization. Deepika hugged her bhaiya bhabhi the moment they came down, wishing them a pleasant good morning. Sameer was thrilled to see alu paranthe for breakfast.

"Aaj hum sabko Sameer ka favourite breakfast mil raha hai." Rohan grinned, pulling a chair next to him.

"Tumhe kaise pata yeh mujhe pasand hai?" He was startled.

"Arre bhai, jitni baar alu paranthe khaye hain na, utni baar suna hai mummy se... ki Sameer ko kitne pasand hai." Rohan flicked his brows towards Vishakha.

Sameer looked at his mother. She placed one hot parantha in his plate, urging him to start eating.

Deepika kept chattering throughout, telling about her school, teachers and friends.

"Aaj hum log ghoomne chalte hain. Bhabhi ko Delhi dikhate hain." Rohan suggested.

"Nahi, aaj Naina ko zyada thakana nahi hai. Kal uska fast rahega poore din ka... aur aaj maine kuch shopping bhi karwani hai usse... kal ke liye." Vishakha put a stop to their plans.

"Mumma, shopping pe jayenge toh thoda sa aur ghoom lenge na... bhabhi strong hain, nahin thakengi... haina bhabhi." Deepika gave the perfect solution.

Vishakha placed the glass of milk in front of her daughter, "Kahin jaa nahi rahe... boutique se kapde mangwaye hain maine... tum apni dadi amma wali seekh apne paas rakho."

Deepika made a face, "Main kyon rakhun, dadi ki hai toh unko do na."

Everyone laughed at her cuteness.

After breakfast, Sameer handed the gifts to his family. Deepika immediately tried her poncho, swirling to show it off. She loved the outfit. Rohan and Vishakha also thanked them. Vishakha was almost in tears to see the candle shaped as a woman holding a baby in her arms.

"Thank you, bhaiya... aap bohot achhe ho." Deepika climbed on the sofa to give a kiss to her brother, making Sameer beam with unbridled elation.

It was about an hour later when dadi walked in, "Vishakha, yeh boutique wale fir se aaye hain? Pichle hafte toh tumne festivals ke liye shopping kar li thi. Abhi kya baaki reh gaya? Woh toh bohot saare bags laye hain."

"Mummyji, maine Naina ke liye bulaya hai. Kal uska pehla karwachouth hai aur fir kuch din mein diwali hai... uske liye kapde lena chahti thi." Vishakha smiled.

Dadi gave a deriding look to Naina, "Boutique se bulane ki kya zaroorat thi, paas ke market se dilwa laati."

Vishakha fumed at the mention of close by small market, from where they bought clothes to give away to the maids, drivers and guards.

Two salespersons from the boutique entered just then, making her divert her attention to them. In no time, they had spread out a splendid collection of sarees and suits, explaining about one or the other.

Vishakha prodded Naina to take a closer look and choose. Deepika kept pointing to extreme bright colours every now and then. Rohan and Sameer also keenly observed the collection.

"Mam, aap bhi dekhiye, achha collection laaye hain aaj." One of the salesman asked dadi, seeing her sitting at the far end of the room.

"Nahi, woh yeh sab nahi pehenti. Yahan paas hi ek market hai woh apni saariyan wahin se karidti hain." Naina informed them politely.

The two salesmen looked at each other, aware that the close by market was just a collection of some shops selling low prices items and clothes, mainly catering to the people of lower strata.

"Yeh kya keh rahi ho tum? Main wahan se kyon lungi apni saariyan?" Dadi hollered, stiffening at the audacity of this tiny girl.

Naina flutterd her eyes innocently, "Aapne thodi der pehle kaha tha na, toh mujhe laga aap jaati hongi wahan apni shopping karne isliye pataa hai wahan kya milta hai... nahi jaati kya?"

Dadi gritted her teeth, "Vishakha, isse bata do..."

"Sorry mummyji, woh Naina yahan ke baare mein kuch jaanti nahi hai na, pehli baar Delhi aayi hai isliye markets ka pataa nahi hai." Vishakha intervened.

"Sorry dadi, agar maine kuch galat kaha ho toh. Achha aap yahan aaiye aur mere liye saree pasand kijiye." Naina gave an apologetic look.

"Haan dadi, aap bhi batao na... bhabhi kis saree mein sabse beautiful lagengi?" Deepika dragged her unwilling  grandmother to the stack of clothes.

Sameer rubbed his hands in frustration. He was aware what dadi was trying to do. All this was difficult for him to see but Naina had assured him that she would take care of things, and also deal with dadi, without being impudent.

"Deepika, ab tum dekhna dadi ki pasand hum sabse achhi hone wali hai... akhir unki choice best hi hogi na... iss ghar ki bahu ke liye woh sabse khaas saree chunengi... bilkul apne standard ke hisaab se." Making Deepika sit with her, Naina watched dadi's cunning face.

Her trick worked. The hand that was moving towards an ordinary saree with a thin border froze midway. Suddenly, it wasn't about putting this girl down, it was about showing off her high standards. As expected, she fished out two exquisite looking, expensive sarees, handing them to the salesman.

"Naina, tum aise karo, yeh try kar lo." Vishakha handed the pile to her.

"Main help kar deta hun tumhari." Sameer sprang up as Naina tried to handle the armful.

Vishakha kept Deepika busy, making her choose more clothes for bhabhi as Sameer held half the sarees, walking with Naina to their room.

"Achha yeh batao... yeh wali toh achhi hai na?" She draped yet another one over her kurta while he stood looking at her through the mirror, leaning against a cabinet.

"Nahi?" She scrunched her nose, shaking her head at his silent gaze.

She peeled off the one she had tried, putting it away and picked up another one, placed it against herself, like a pallu and took it away, not liking the colour. Sameer watched her draping a pink saree around her tiny waist, delicately placing the pallu over her shoulder... his senses could not take this torment anymore. Taking two long strides, he was behind her.

"Yeh wali pasand aayegi tumhe, hai na?" She asked, still looking at the saree.

He spun her around, putting one finger under her chin to tilt her face up. Her breath quickened as his dark eyes bore into hers.

"Mujhe yeh pasand hai... bohot pasand hai." His deep voice was more throaty... and she knew he wasn't talking about the saree.

"Sam... Sameer." Her hands clutched the saree over her belly, more to comfort the tightening inside as his heated breath fell on her face.

"Kya Sameer?" He inched his face closer.

"Tum... tum... kya kar rahe ho?" She stuttered, seeing the glint in his eyes.

"Kuch nahi, bas madad karunga tumhari... saree pehenne mein... aur utarne mein." His hands moved over her waist, untying the loosely draped saree.

Her face turned crimson. Pushing him away, she quickly kept the sarees aside.

He watched her with a sly smirk on his face, hands shoved in pockets, making her colour even more.

"Chalo, warna sab kya sochenge." She picked up the sarees, walking towards the door.

He put a hand against it, blocking her way. She widened her eyes. He took the pile from her hand, giving a beguiling smile. The moment she relaxed, his lips brushed against hers, leaving a quick trail across her cheek to neck. He was walking ahead before she could find her breath. Hoping that her flaming cheeks are not distinctly noticeable, she started to climb down the stairs.

"Lekin zaroorat kya hai iss fizoolkharchi ki? Uss chote sheher ki ladki ko idea bhi hoga ki inn boutique ki saariyon ki kya value hai? Tumhe saree hi leni thi toh koi bhi normal si shop pe le jaati. Uska standard uske kapdon se pata chalta hai... itne low class aur gaudy hain... hum jaise perfect logon ke saamne khade rehne layak bhi nahi hai." Dadi's voice was low but clear.

Naina stood frozen, hearing her insulting words as dadi was trying to dissuade Vishakha. They were standing next to the stairs.

Though it didn't effect her much, Naina was sure Sameer wouldn't be able to take it. Quickly rushing down to the step where he stood rooted, she placed a hand on his arm. He jerked to look at her, his eyes flashing sparks of anger.

"Tum jaake baitho... main dekh lungi... please Sameer... mere liye." She pleaded in a soft whisper.

His jaw clenched, but he had faith on Naina.

"Agar unhone tumhe kuch kaha toh hum abhi yahan se chale jayenge." He warned.

"Uski zaroorat nahi padegi." She gave him a tight lipped smile, taking the sarees from his hand.

Sameer watched her going back up the stairs.

"Mummy, yeh sabhi saree try kar li maine." Speaking in a louder voice, Naina started to come down the stairs slowly.

Dadi gave a look of contempt and went back to sit on the sofa.

Telling Vishakha about the ones she liked, they walked towards the salesmen.

Because of the heavy load in her arms, Naina couldn't see properly, and tripped, the sarees flying in air, some landing on the floor, some on the sofa, and one... chosen by dadi... landing on her head.

"Oh sorry, dadi." Naina quickly leaned, holding one end and pulling the saree hard.

Along with it, came the wig... the one dadi always wore.

A loud gasp escaped the mouths of both salesmen.

Sameer gaped with startled eyes.

Rohan pursed his lips.

Deepika sniggered, holding a hand to her mouth.

Vishakha was terrified.

Naina stood without expression, holding the wig in her hand.

Dadi furiously looked around, trying to cover her bald head with her hands.

Next update tomorrow evening